Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn Has Something Electric To Share, Will Open CES In January

Carlos Ghosn is coming to the US, and he is bringing something new with him

For those who have been playing the “when will Nissan disclose its hand this show season“ when it comes to an updated LEAF, or other plug-in related offerings game…CES just got a big boost.

And while the even money (although not from us) is still on the Los Angeles Auto Show next month for the first of the Nissan related EV reveals (press days for that event run November 14th to 17th), the “don’t call us the Consumer Electronics Show” in Las Vegas in January will certainly also be in the mix.

Look, I’m reading the paper instead of driving!

CES announced today that Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will be giving a keynote speech at the event on opening day…and the topic du jour from the lips of the man that now controls four major automakers, will be zero emissions and autonomy.

Specifically, the Nissan boss will “discuss a major technological breakthrough in the realization of a zero-emission, zero-fatality world for everyone”. The speech will be held Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017 at 4PM (PT) at the Westgate Theater in the Westgate Las Vegas

“In his first appearance at CES, Ghosn will unveil a vision of the world made better by the latest automotive technology innovations. In his role as leader of The Renault-Nissan Alliance, one of the world’s largest automotive groups, Ghosn will share space-age advances that significantly alter our understanding of how our world will evolve.”

“Carlos Ghosn is a major figure in the advancement of the global automotive industry. It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome him to our keynote stage,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association.

“By championing innovation, Mr. Ghosn expanded Nissan into new international markets and committed Nissan to a future where technology innovation improves the lives of everyone, not just the few. We cannot wait to hear how Nissan will continue to revolutionize our automotive experience and our future.”

Patented Carlos Ghosn “Force Push” incoming to US autoshow season

We should note that with Nissan’s strong EV participation at CES, and the CEO’s presence in the US on January 5th, the likelihood of his participation (and Nissan’s) at the granddaddy of all autoshows in Detroit (NAIAS) a few days later on the 9th, is practically a given.

I don’t think we’re giving Nissan enough credit they were really the first manufacturer to put out an electric vehicle that could be purchased by the masses and made it available in all 50 states as well as around the world. yes it’s ugly and now it’s dated but I wouldn’t say that their commitment is missing. Let’s see what they come up with first.

That said, Nissan has now lost its frontrunner status on the longest-range/best-affordable BEV front, by a wide margin. Time to hustle up and regain it, or at least get back into the leading pack before the Bolt and new Zoe achieve continent-wide distribution.

Here’s the truth, Nissan needs to hold it’s cards close because they are still selling Leafs with smaller batteries, once they show a 60kwhr(or whatever) new EV it will be tough to sell anything less. Nissan has made a huge investment in EV technology and will certainly step up with a longer range car to compete with Bolt and M3 but they can’t talk about it too soon.

Dave, Nissan only has 1300 Leafs in the North American inventory. Which is less than one months worth. It is time for Nissan to sh** or get off the pot. I really am beginning to think that they haven’t got anything ready to go/sell and won’t for another several months.
The Bolt is going to be the only long range BEV under $40k for at least one quarter, and it may be the only long range BEV under $40k for 2 or even 3 quarters. Chevy is in a great position if they care to take advantage of that fact by promoting the Bolt and by building enough to meet the probable demand. Chevy has built rotten small cars for years and their reputation is terrible due to that fact. The Bolt and the Volt could give Chevy a whole new, much improved rep.

That Bolt might have range, but let’s see GM make it available at every Chevy store in all 50 states. Otherwise Nissan will bring a car out next year that will make the Bolt look stupid in every way. Especially without the widely established CHAdeMO.

The Leaf Ugly ! So is your Momma. But seriously, who cares what it looks like, it’s a good car. I am halfway through my 4 year lease and still love it. Sure my next BEV will be better, I expect it to be.

A little late? GM may have beat Nissan to market but Nissan will likely be able to deliver reasonably soon after the announcement. Might not be 60 kWh of course but then again other than the Bolt EV there is only one other 60 kWh BEV, which is the base Model S.

You can totally suggest and prove that Nissan’s initial BEV commitment has been strictly for ZEV Credits and an EV PR Halo. Their ICE SUV’s outsell their EV’s by a HUGE margin.

If Nissan really wanted to advance the Leaf, they’ve had YEARS to do so. The fact that they’ve held back on using thermal battery management to save money, use a cheap outdated battery chemistry, lack of significant model / technology refreshs, and their chronic use of underpowered packs to save money– is typical of their casual, if non-committal approach to this particular vehicle.

Nissan deserves to lose marketshare, because of their faltering momentum with sustainable transport. As global emissions increase, they’re hoping on the train at the last minute, from what I can see. And they’ll sit in the caboose, because of it.

At the moment they still deliver one of the most capable mass market EVs out there. Sure, it looks like the Bolt will take a big step past the Leaf, but the Bolt is still not yet on the streets and I expect we’ll see the second generation Leaf sometime next year.

They deliver electric NV200 too. Not in the US though.
Anyway, they deliver what market can buy. There is not enough space in this niche for too many models. As far as I heard, they expected bigger sales from Leaf, but what can you sell when technology allowed some 100 miles only or less and price tag was still around double of similar gas car? Cars are made for buyers who want to pay money, not just for display and to the satisfaction of internet discussion board posters.

I call your bluff! You say it can be proven? Prove it!
This is a best selling EV in the world with really good sales numbers in the country it was first designed and built in, it is also produced in Europe and sells very well in that market as well.
Let’s hear you prove that it was only designed as a US compliance car, this should be interesting…

Nissan’s 2016 infiniti qx60 hybrid should’ve been a PHEV to compete with the offerings from: bmw x5, volvo xc90,audi q7. Spring 2016,I visited an urban infiniti dealership where they don’t have a qx60 hybrid demo. Plus their sales people suggest a customer skip it is non committal. Prior to,I visited Nissan dealers to inquire about a potential PHEV CUV, sales wasn’t even interested in the discussion.If Gholsn cares,he may want to ask dealer relations why the dealerships are so unenthusiastic? Albeit,his brand isn’t the only one. Only Tesla stores have shown an interest,and have been informative.

Really? You call 3-6 months after the first inexpensive car that come to market “late”? Do you realize that you are talking about cars, not smartphones? If a company is fast they develop a new car in 5 years, no less. And you intend to to call 3-6 months later than the best competitor “late to market”?

I would love to see an announcement about the new leaf but I think that will wait until January with the car shipping in March next year.

Nissan are not going to get a big number of cars in the USA for December so I think they will be really quiet until after the Christmas rush is over.

I think the most we can hope for before Christmas is a self driving car concept or an announcement about a car that doesn’t compete with the leaf.

May be a new PHEV for June/July time. A PHEV, especially something like a pathfinder with a large battery. That would be a competitor for the model X so could get a big announcement to help cool that particular fire.

No. It doesn’t need 200 miles if it’s a lot cheaper. For example, if the Nissan Leaf S’ repricing has been done in preparation for pricing of the Gen 2 Leaf, then it’d be 150 miles of range for $32k, over $5.5k less than the Bolt. That’d be enough room to be competitive.

I’m hoping we get options on 30, 41, and 60kWh versions so there is a good range on pricing. I have a 24kWh version and would be quite content with a 30 or 41kWh battery for my replacement or wife’s new car.

I agree with you on the 150mi range as the bare minimum. With fast charging, that’s the bare minimum to take the car on the meandering road trip. Any less and it’s not practical. Any more can get expensive.

I can give you a reason not to buy a Leaf; the resale value stinks because they have a policy not to offer updated, longer range batteries for their older model. Expect your new Nissan EV’s value to drop exponentially as a result just like the 250,000 Leafs they have on the used car market today. Tesla has a certified used car program to assure your model 3 holds its’ value…Nissan…not a policy to care about their customers.

Does it matter if you’re planning to keep the car for 10 years rather than change it every 3 years? I’ve had my Prius for almost 6 years now, I”m planning to keep it for a few more years and then assume a resale value of $0, taking what I can get for it.

Yes, it matters; these are not ICEVs and do not wear out as ICEVs do; you are making the same mistake Nissan has made in setting their policies based on gas cars not EVs. There is little reason they should not last twice as long if they are updated on a continuous basis.

I think they said, ” “discuss a major technological breakthrough in the realization of a zero-emission, zero-fatality world for everyone”. ”
Which doesn’t sound like the new Leaf will be showing up soon. Nissan is looking more and more like the company that started ok but then failed to improve that much while everyone else was getting much, much better.
The Leaf is slightly better now than it was in 2011 but the Bolt is a generation or two better than the old Leaf. The Leaf is fighting it out with the new Ford Focus Electric for second tier BEV leadership.

I wonder if perhaps you may not be seeing things quite right. So far til now there has only been an announcing of plans for some 2017 MY EVs over 100 mile range… the i3 and the Bolt are the only two that are happening as we speak.
Nissan on the other hand has had the 107 mile LEAF out for about a year now, and sometime in the next few months they undoubtedly will have two more offerings with one being over 200 miles.
How bout we look at what’s actually on sale and available to purchase when comparing EV brands.

Exactly! I’m not sure why so many here don’t see this. I suppose there is a lack of understanding of marketing and business. Nissan has a product on the market right now that is still selling. They have no reason to announce a year in advance a fantastic new product that will cannibalize existing sales.
GM and Tesla, on the other hand, have a great reason to announce years in advance; their product is brand new and doesn’t compete with an existing model. My guess is that Nissan will make the product available shortly after announcing. Who knows, they may even hit volume shipping on a new generation faster than the Bolt.

I hope you all are right and that Nissan will be selling a Gen II Leaf with at least 150 miles of AER within a couple months, but I am thinking that it will be more like a couple quarters. I just don’t see it showing up less than 3 months after Nissan announces it. I hope I am wrong. We need more full utility BEV choices under $40k.
We will see.

My 2011 Leaf lost its 3rd bar at 63 months. As such, I can think of three announcements which would interest me:
1. Reduction in price of replacement 24 kWh batteries.
2. Availability of 30 kWh battery for current price.
3. Owner loyalty credit for purchase of Leaf 2.0.

Otherwise, I will be driving this until it doesn’t meet my need for 35 miles/day, then get a Bolt, and tell everyone who asks about electric cars to avoid Nissan like a week old bowl of egg salad (non-refrigerated & green)

I think that is very likely to happen! And if you need replacement in 5 years or later, it is possible to expect the 30kWh version to be out of production and you will get a 41kWh battery fot the current price.

After the Leaf I wouldn’t look at another Nissan. The battery lost range at an astounding rate, and, even if this were addressed with a TMS, which isn’t likely, you’d still have the cheapest components known to mankind. Never knew paint or carpets could be so thin.

However, Nissan does seem to have mastered the art of making things look good at the POS, so if the price was right it could do well.

Cheap build quality may be a serious issue on the Leaf I hadn’t thought of before. I hit a culvert with one wheel at a speed of under 20 mph and my 2012 was totaled because the damage was so extensive. Just wonderin’.

Would make no sense if they don’t at least make it perfectly clear that a LEAF II is right around the corner, that the LEAF II will match (or better)the Bolt’s range and at a lower price. In addition, they will have to match Bolt’s tech aspects, if not improve on them. Nissan has made its share of mistakes with the original LEAF, and pissed off more than a few customers, but I believe that they are serious about maintaining the lead in BEV’s. If they learned anything about real world day to day EV driving and ownership(and I believe that they have)then there is no way they are going to repeat their mistakes. Things are now getting very interesting(and promising)in the EV world. Mistakes now, at this critical juncture, could be fatal. But I don’t think they wasted the past 6-7 years, they hit on the right concept but stumbled a bit along the way and realize they have a chance to right the ship so to speak. I am curious about the reveal, and the LEAF II, etc.

Well, to be fair, its CES announcing that Ghosn will be present in order get some buzz around the event. Renault-Nissan has been mum on anything to do with Ghosn and EVs (until the very last moment) this autoshow season.

“Zero Emission”, yep, we already got that right now. “Zero Fatality”, highly doubtful. Even if fully autonomous and never makes a mistake, everyone else still on the road does make mistakes, just look at 1 of 2 Tesla’s fatalities where the truck came across the road and sliced the roof off.

In 5 years no one will remember what Nissan, GM, Tesla had as all players will have something that someone likes. I don’t think I every bought an ICE and looked at how big the gas tank was our how far it would go, I just know by the size of the vehicle roughly how much gas would take to fill and that it would go about 350mi without trouble, and that I could fill it up in 2 minutes.

EV’s are a bit different because you can charge at home every day, once they all go (let’s say 350mi) then really noone is going to care if they go 340mi,350mi or 360mi, you just know it will go the distance you need.

Fast charge is something that will be interesting to see evolve. Given you charge at home every day, it will be rare to need a full charge, so 30mins on a road trip will probably be OK as you stop for a stretch, food, email etc. The fact you will not be competing with hundreds of other local drivers means less pressure on chargers (people have topped up at home).

Nissan makes their own battery? Maybe they have a high density pack waiting. They did a promo a year or two ago showing a Leaf doing something like 500km, so that would leap frog them in front if they have something like that.

For me, I would love if Nissan offered a bigger battery option for older Leaf’s, but I doubt it will happen.

Just remember, Tesla is a new age company with new age ideas. Nissan, GM and ask the others are old age companies and while their cars are fine, they will be slowly forced to catch up to the new age company. Tesla is lucky they are the only one like them at the moment, as Nissan, GM are lucky that is the case as well. Elon Musk does not care that these companies are in this market as his vision is to get the whole planet to this place, and they have a great product and awesome reputation that will keep them going.